Irrelevent Software ?

I have noticed a tendancy in various places for some people to dismiss software that has helped them previously. For people who surf unsafely, or are new online, or just becoming aware of PC security, then products like this are definately required to be run on a regular basis. For others though this is probably not required.

I'm thinking of products like Spybot Search and Destroy and Adaware for example.

I myself never find anything of note after a scan with either of these, but they Both have other Very useful features built into them, that maybe some people have forgotten about, or even overlooked !

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Spybot has many useful items in the Tools section in the Advanced Options including -

Tweak SE - Allows you to alter and "tweak" settings as well as make GUI alterations available to the user

VX2 Cleaner - Detects the malware VX2 and offers you the ability to remove it from your computer

Messenger-Control - Shutting off Windows Messenger Service will have no effect on any of the popular "instant messaging" systems you might be using; they don't rely on Windows Messenger Service (irrespective of its name) to function.

Hex Dump - Lets you view a hexadecimal version of a file turned up in a scan, along with an "English" translation

FileSpecs - If you're interested in more information about a given file than Ad-Aware supplies in the "Scanning Results" screen, choose The FileSpecs add-on from the right-click menu under "Extensions | Show File-Details"

LSP Explorer - A very comprehensive utility for checking the validity of your Network

OE/WMessenger - The add-on allows you to switch between disabling and enabling Windows Messenger's auto-launch status when opening Outlook Express. When Windows Messenger is disabled, you may also notice faster load times when opening Outlook Express.

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I hope this has given you the oppourtunity of maybe having a second look at these two products in a new light, if you havn't done so already. Other people may have interesting thoughts on other software that is often neglected that they would like to share too.

I agree, these products are still going strong and have not outlived any usefullness. Ad-Aware is still the #1 download on Download.com. I wouldn't recommend using either of them alone, but I wouldn't recommend using any AS alone. The AS scanners also don't stand at the same place in tests the way AVs do, either.. one will be the top for a while, then another will take the lead out of the blue. Just because others are ahead of Ad-Aware and Spybot right now doesn't necessarily mean it will always be that way. They're both still worth keeping and using, IMO.

You make a good point about the additional tools that come with SpyBot and Ad-ware (as examples). And one can make a case, (as has been done), that TDS-3 also provides many nice tools, even if the database is being updated.

However, when I refer to the above mentioned products, I usually refer to them in regards to their primary use. Once DCS, stopped updating TDS-3's database, it no longer retained its usefulness in terms of its primary purpose. In the same way, SpyBot and Ad-aware, no longer appear to be important to my security in terms of actually catching something. I think it has been a very long time since they caught something of significance - either in terms of real malware or in terms of significant information.

I do use KAV and Ewido (licensed), so my situation may be different form others. Both of these products have extremely large signature databases as well as excellent scan/detection engines. So in this regard my situation may be different from others. I usually make this quite plain in my remarks. Users who have a different set of tools, may still find these products very relevent as to their primary use.

The "tools" that come with the products are interesting, but for myself I have put together a different set of tools, e.g. RegSeeker, CCleaner, ProcessExplorer, HijaackThis, Starter, etc. Each set of tools has its own pluses and minuses, but this works best for me.

However, your point is well made. There are capabilities in each of the products that you mentioned that may be of value to users that transcends their original primary purpose.